The prevalence of infection with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) in blood donors from Israel is 1 infection/100,000 persons. In donors originating from Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America, prevalences are 7.7, 14.6, and 20.4, respectively. HTLV-1 prevalence may be high outside areas where HTLV-1 previously was known to be endemic.

Infection with human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) can be associated with hematologic malignancy, inflammatory syndromes, or infectious complications. Herein, we bring attention to HTLV-1 infection complications as we discuss a case of disseminated cryptococcosis in a patient with HTLV-1-associated T cell lymphoma.

At least four, and possibly six, molecular subtypes of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) exist: one is confined to Melanesia/Australia, one is ubiquitous, and the others are found only in Africa. Molecular epidemiology suggests that all subtypes arose from separate interspecies transmissions from simians to humans.